Qatar keep hopes alive as Al Haidous stars in win over South Korea
Qatar’s hopes of qualifying for a FIFA World Cup before hosting the 2022 edition in Doha received a boost when they defeated South Korea 3-2 in a thrilling match at the Al Sadd Stadium yesterday.
Hassan Al Haidous was the real man of the match. The Al Sadd forward scored twice, including the winning goal, and also set up another to make the match his, reported Doha Stadium Plus.
He scored the winner 16 minutes from time having seen the Koreans come back from going two goals down to level the game with strikes from Ki Sung-Yueng and Hwang Hee-Chan.
Al Haidous had put Qatar in front with a perfectly taken free-kick 25 minutes into the game and Afif doubled his side’s lead in the 51st.
Ki and Hwang netted in the 62nd and 70th minutes to level the scores.
The win moved the Qataris, who are now fifth in the Group A standings, onto seven points from eight games. If they win the remaining two matches, they stand a chance of qualifying for the FIFA play-offs as the third-placed team in the group.
Coach Jorge Fossati resigns
However, there seemed to be a shocker still in store for fans as news emerged that Qatar coach Jorge Fossati has resigned from his post.
Reuters reported that Fossati resigned just a few hours after leading his team to the win over South Korea.
The Uruguayan's decision to quit after less than a year in charge has taken the Qatar Football Association by surprise and its president said he wanted to discuss the matter with the coach before accepting the resignation.
Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani said Qatar Under-23 team’s Spanish coach Felix Sanchez would take over if Fossati could not be persuaded to stay on.
Photo courtesy: Doha Stadium Plus
